I Don't Wanna Lose You
by MaggieLimerick
Summary: Julie Su's relationship with Knuckles is going really well. But when Rouge is injured and ends up in their town will she tear their relationship apart?
1. The Crash

I Don't Wanna Lose You

Chapter 1

(A/N: I'm thinking about writing a sequel. Let me know you think if I should.)

The two echidnas sat in a tree watching the sunset. The orange reflection ran down their faces until the glowing ball of fire set behind the horizon. Then they climbed out of the tree and Knuckles walked his girlfriend Julie-Su home. When they arrived at her apartment Knuckled kissed Julie-Su goodnight. Julie-Su walked to her couch and sat down.

She was happy that Knuckles was her boyfriend. He was the only one who seemed to care about her. Everyone else disliked her for her past as a Dark Legionnaire. A lot of the time the echidnas of Echidnaopolis would ignore her, make fun of her, or run from her. Being raised a Dark Legionnaire there wasn't anything she could do about that. Finally she changed and went to bed.

In the morning she showered and got dressed in her typical vest and put on her belt. When she walked out side she saw a figure tumbling out of the sky and to the ground. The pink echidna started running to the place where the figure crashed. When she got there she saw it lying on the ground. Quickly she ran up to it and kneeled on the ground next to it. It was Rouge!

The bat laid there on the ground with one wing torn. Julie-Su didn't care for the bat at all but she knew she had to help her. She pulled her cell phone from her pocket and called to have an ambulance come pick Rouge up. After about two minutes the ambulance arrived and put Rouge on a stretcher. Two raccoons pushed it into the vehicle. Julie-Su watched the automobile drive down the road and disappear in the distance.

Julie-Su walked back to her apartment and saw Knuckles standing in front of it. "Hey Knuckles!" she called out as she walked up to him.

"Hi Julie-Su," he responded and kissed her on the cheek. "Where have you been?"

"Oh, there was just a bat falling out of the sky when I walked out. I went and found it and called to have it taken to the hospital," she replied leaving out a couple details.

"A lot of excitement for one morning huh?" the red echidna asked.

"I guess. Hey, why don't we go have ourselves some breakfast?"

"That sounds good."

The couple walked to a little diner not too far from Julie-Su's apartment and enjoyed a nice breakfast together.

Julie-Su didn't want Knuckles to know Rouge was in town. She was afraid if he ran into her again he would fall for the bat and leave her behind. She just couldn't bear to lose him. Knuckles and Julie-Su were walking through the park together. All the flowers made the park look beautiful.

Kids were running around and playing on some play equipment on the other side of the park. "Such a nice day huh Knuckles?" the pink one asked him.

"Uh huh," he returned kind of looking into the distance.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, in fact I'm great."

Julie-Su looked at him suspiciously. Then he looked at her and gently grabbed her hand. They held hands the rest of the way through the park.

Finally evening arrived and Knuckles walked Julie-Su back to her apartment. "I had a great time," she said to him sweetly.

"I did too," he responded and he kissed her on the lips.

"Good night!" she called from her doorstep. He disappeared into the darkness and she went to bed.

The next morning she decided to be lazy and just slip into her white dress and lay on the couch. She flipped on the TV and just listened to it. She drifted off to sleep.

The dream:

It was bright and Julie-Su was walking down a sidewalk by herself. She looked at all the couples sitting on the benches and walking together. Knuckles walked up to her. "Julie-Su, I don't want to be with you anymore," he said sadly.

"What! Why not?" the pink echidna demanded.

"I've got a new girlfriend."

Then she started getting dizzy and the world was spinning non-stop! She couldn't stand it. Then everything just went blank.

She woke up on the couch two hours later and the TV was still on. "Oh thank goodness it was only a dream," she sighed.

She showered, changed, and headed out the door to the park. The female glanced around but didn't see Knuckles. She sat down on the empty bench next to her and looked around again. No sign of Knuckles. Then she saw Rouge working her way down the sidewalk on crutches. Her wing was wrapped up with gauze and her left leg was in a brace.

Without hesitating the echidna got up from her seat and leaped into the bushes not wanting to be seen by the bat. She looked through little gaps in the brush. Rouge passed and she looked around to make sure Knuckles didn't show up. "I'm being way too paranoid," she told herself.

Then she climbed out of the bushes. Rouge turned herself around with her crutches. "Oh hi Julie-Su," she said.

"Hi Rouge," the echidna answered trying to sound friendly. She did not like the bat at all. Rouge got on her nerves. The way she dressed, the way she talked to guys, the way she flirted with Knuckles. It all made Julie-Su sick.

"What happened?" the pink one asked trying really hard to sound sympathetic.

"Oh I was just in a fight that's all," the bat returned calmly. "It really isn't any of your business."

That made Julie-Su really angry. No one spoke to her that way without getting beaten up. The echidna took a deep breathe and just ignored the remark.

"See you later Rouge," she said starting to walk away.

Rouge just ignored Julie-Su's good-by and turned around slowly limping away.

Later Julie-Su was walking through the city with her jacket on; lonely with no one to talk to. But she needed some time alone to reflect and think. This whole Rouge deal scared her. For once in her life she was afraid. Afraid Rouge might take her best friend from her. Tears rolled down her face. She didn't feel comfortable sharing those feelings with Knuckles.

She knew she needed to be honest with him but it just seemed too painful. Julie-Su just wasn't sure why. There wasn't anything that Julie-Su didn't share with Knuckles. This was just a sensitive spot with her. There was no one on the streets. No cars, nothing but the stars, the moon, and her.

Finally the echidna started back for her apartment; with her jacket wrapped around her and the wind blowing softly against her face. The air felt relaxing and cool. As if it was trying to lift her worries from her. The only thing she could hear was the wind, the chirping of the crickets, and the sound of her feet on the curb. When she came to her apartment she went find the key in her pocket.

The female rummaged around in the pocket but couldn't find her key. Julie-Su was furious with herself for locking herself out. Then she remembered her window was unlocked. The pink one unbuttoned her jacket and pulled her grappling hook from her belt. With that she fired the hook around a bar on the railing of her balcony.

The echidna swung herself up onto her balcony. As she went to step on the ledge near the side of the balcony she slipped. Quickly she grasped a bar on the railing. The girl pulled herself up onto the balcony again and tried the ledge again. This time she did not slip and she worked her way to her window.

Then she reached the window when she heard a car pull up and saw the headlights shining on her. Julie-Su turned her head and saw Constable Remmington step out of the car. "Why hello there Miss Julie-Su. Would you care to explain why you're climbing up there?" he asked calmly.

"Uh, I just locked myself out," she replied honestly.

"Well I can't have you climbing around up there. Why don't you come down here?"

Julie-Su sighed and jumped down. She walked over to the car and looked at Remmington. "Don't you have a spare key out here somewhere?" he asked.

"No, I'm afraid not sir," she replied.

"It's not like I don't believe you but I have to treat all the citizens equally you see. I can't have you prowling around in the dark. I'm afraid I'm going to have to take you down to headquarters."

_All because I forgot my stupid key! _"Sure officer," she said angrily.

She got in the car and he drove to the police station.

The next day after Julie-Su was questioned she was finally released. As she walked down the street she yawned, not getting any sleep the night before. Then she saw Knuckles coming up the road to her. "Hey Julie-Su!" he called cheerfully.

"Hi _yawn _Knuckles," she said groggily.

"What happened?" he asked concerned.

"I locked myself out late last night."

"Why were you out so late?"

"I was just taking a walk. Oh by the way do you have a spare key to my house? I can't remember right now if I gave you one."

"Yeah I have one. In fact you gave it to me just in case something like this happened. Why didn't you come get it from me last night?"

"I didn't want to wake you up."

Kuckles reached in his pocket of the jacket he had on and pulled out the key. He handed it to Julie-Su. "I hope you get some sleep, you look exhausted."

"See ya."

Julie-Su trudged back to her apartment and unlocked the door. She put the key on the table and just collapsed on the sofa.

The dream:

Julie-Su saw Knuckles sitting in a diner, alone. The pink echidna walked inside the diner and sat down next to him. "Hi," she said happily.

"I can't believe you Julie-Su. If you were scared that Rouge and I would get together you should have just talked to me," the red echidna said not looking up from the table.

"How did you know Rouge was in town?" the girl replied.

"I saw her and I talked to her. We're over Julie-Su."

Julie-Su sat there watching him get up and walk out of the diner. He walked over to Rouge who was standing in the parking lot on her crutches. The bat stuck her tongue out at the female echidna.

"Gahhhhhh! Knuckles! Don't leave me!" she yelled awakening from sleeping on the sofa.

She was sitting up by now and was wiping the sweat from her face. "I have to talk to Knuckles," she told herself.

Quickly she rushed to the shower and got herself dressed. Then she busted out the door with a key and her coat. The girl started running down the street toward Knuckle's house.

Finally she arrived and knocked on the door. There was no answer. "Knuckles open up I gotta talk to you!" she called.

Then she started running to the park since that was one of his favorite places to be. When she got there Knuckles was sitting on a bench alone. "Hey Knuckles I need to talk to you," the female said to him.

"Ok," Knuckles responded not sure what to expect.

"Remember how I said I rescued a bat the other day?"

"Yeah."

"So what I didn't tell you was that it was Rouge."

"Uh huh? So what does that have anything to do with us?"

"She's in town and I was just afraid that I would lose you."

"Lose me? To her?" he started laughing.

He put his arm around her and said "You won't lose me that easily."

Julie-Su felt better but kind of embarrassed. But now her conscience was clear and hopefully her nightmares would go away.

_To be continued?_


	2. Robberies

I Don't Wanna Lose You

Chapter 2

The wind blew the snow softly against Julie-Su's apartment building. The pink echidna was sitting inside her living room all bundled up on the sofa. She had a quilt wrapped around her and she was watching a soap opera. There was a glass of hot coco sitting on the coffee table in front of the couch.

The snow was about a foot deep and it was nearly impossible to go anywhere. The roads were closed and nobody dared to even try to walk through the frozen town. Julie-Su hadn't seen such bad conditions in the area since she had lived there.

It had been two months since Rouge had crashed into her town and the bat had been living there ever since. That made the echidna a little uneasy but she knew she would just have to deal with it. Anytime Rouge was around Knuckles she would flirt with him. Julie-Su assumed that they were just friends but what if Knuckles got a hankering for Rouge.

That couldn't be true to Julie-Su since they were soultouched. Nothing could come between those two. But what if Rouge found a loophole and worked her way in-between them?

After her soap was over she pulled the quilt off of herself and walked to the kitchen to refill her hot chocolate. She poured the rest of the hot drink into her mug and walked back to the couch. Walking on the tile floor in the kitchen was cold since she was barefoot. Then she went upstairs and put on her slippers. She was still in her PJ's and planned to wear them all day since she couldn't go anywhere.

Finally it was dark and she decided to go to bed.

When she woke up the next morning some of the snow had melted. It was only a couple inches deep now. The sun was out and slowly melting away the white blanket of snow. She showered and changed into a long sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans. As she was about to walk out the door she grabbed her jacket and put it on.

There were children running around in the snow, making snowmen, igloos, and having snowball fights. There were a group of echidna kids sledding down a snow covered hill. She started walking down the sidewalk watching the kids play. Then she noticed a shady figure walk into a jewelry store. Silently she followed it. Hoping to find the mysterious animal she looked around. The figure was nowhere to be seen.

"_How strange." _Julie-Su walked out of the store and saw the figure getting ready to take off into an alleyway with a bag of gems in its hand. Wanting to catch the thief the female started sprinting toward the figure being as careful as she could trying not to slip and fall. The caped figure looked back at the pursuing animal behind it.

It reacted quickly by dropping some gems. Its goal was for Julie-Su to slip on the gems and fall allowing it to get away. Julie-Su was lucky not to fall and pulled her grappling hook from her belt and aimed it at a gutter yards away from where she was. The hook latched onto the gutter and the strong-willed echidna girl was lifted off the ground and sent swinging by the burglar. Knocking over the thief Julie-Su went to grab its arm and it started in a roll.

Without processing what to do next through her mind she leaped on top of the caped figure and tried to pull the mask off. There wasn't success because the animal punched Julie-Su and pushed her off of itself. Thrusting itself to its feet it escaped through the dark snowy alley leaving Julie-Su behind.

Julie-Su was very disappointed with herself and pulled herself to her feet. She started walking through the alley toward her apartment.

The snow blew softly against her face and melting when hitting her warm face. The echidna came back to her apartment and saw Knuckles standing at the front door. "Hey Knux," she greeted him.

"Hi Julie-Su. Taking a walk on these conditions? Seems kinda silly to me," he joked.

"Why don't you come inside?" the pink one offered.

"Don't mind if I do."

The two walked inside and sat on her sofa together. Knuckles put his arm around Julie-

Su. After an hour of just having a conversation Knuckles got up and left. Julie-Su was left sitting in her house. Then after a day of watching TV the sky darkened and the sun disappeared. The pink echidna changed for bed and slipped into her bed.

She wasn't tired. There wasn't much she had done today besides chase the robber. By this time the police would be on it. So she just let it escape her mind. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep but it was hopeless. Her restless mind just kept drifting off. Especially the thought about Rouge and Knuckles possibly getting together caused her to not sleep.

But she just didn't understand it. _"Why am I so worried? I mean Knuckles clearly loves me and he even told me so. Maybe it's just not possible for me to completely trust someone. Nah, I trust Knuckles right?" _the echidna thought.

Then finally she started drifting off to sleep. Suddenly she heard a crash. Quickly she leaped out of bed and ran into her living room. As small as the room was it couldn't have been that hard to locate the burglar. Julie-Su saw the silhouette of whoever broke into her apartment and leaped on it. The thief kicked Julie-Su off of itself with two extremely thick boots. The pink echidna flew hard against the wall.

She could feel the pounding in her head but just ignored it. The robber ran toward the window and opened it hastily. Julie-Su wasn't about to let it get away this time. She charged at it and jumped on it. But since it was standing by the window she and the thief plunged out the window and onto the ground.

The robber got to its feet and ran down the street. Julie-Su was sort of dizzy and waited for her vision to come into focus. Her side screamed in pain. She could feel blood running down her side. The next thing she knew she saw an ambulance pull up before she shut her eyes and they became too heavy to lift. Then she just fell asleep.

Several hours later Julie-Su woke up in the hospital. She had bandages all over her body. Then a nurse walked in. "Oh you're awake," the purple echidna nurse said.

"How are you feeling dear?" she continued.

"Not much better than how I felt before," the pink one returned.

"Oh I'm sorry. Let me get the doctor. Maybe he can help you."

With that the nurse walked out of the room and a couple minutes later the doctor walked in. "I hear the pain isn't easing," the echidna said. "Well I suppose you wouldn't after jumping out your window."

"I didn't jump out," Julie-Su argued.

"Well then why was your window broken and you were on the ground surrounded by glass?" The doctor pulled a tube with a needle on the end over by Julie-Su.

"I was trying to stop someone who broke into my house." she returned.

"Then I'll get in touch with the police and you can work it out with them if you'd like," then the doctor stuck the needle in Julie-Su's arm. Julie-Su grimaced from the short jot of pain. "That will make the pain go away."

"Please go ahead and call the police so I can talk to them. By the way did I break anything?"

"You're very fortunate that nothing broke. You just had some really bad cuts from the glass but you're all fixed up now. It won't take very long for them to heal. "

Then Julie-Su felt really happy and goofy inside. The pain was gone and she felt like she could do anything. The pain reliever that was being pumped into her veins must have started working. Then the doctor walked out of the room. After half an hour the doctor walked in and disconnected the tube from her arm. "Constable Remington will be here shortly," the doctor said.

"_Is he the only one in this town that works for the police department in this town?"_ she thought.

Then about ten minutes later Constable Remington walked in the door. "Good day Miss Julie-Su," he said. "I hope you are feeling better."

"So I understand someone broke into your house last night. Am I right?" he asked.

"Yeah," the injured one replied.

"May I ask why you jumped out the window then?'

"A burglar was about to jump out my window and escape. So I jumped on him or her and accidentally went flying out the window."

He started writing down the information on a piece of paper. "Did the thief steel anything?"

"I don't know. I was taken off in an ambulance before I got to check."

"Alright. I guess that's all I need to know. I hope you stay safe from now on Miss Julie-Su."

Then the reddish brownish echidna walked out the door. Julie-Su just stared at the walls when the door flew open. "Oh my gosh Julie-Su! As soon as I heard what happened I hurried over."

"Oh hi Knux," she said.

Knuckles walked over to her bed. He wrapped one of his arms around her shoulders and gave her a little squeeze because he didn't want to hurt her.

"The doctor said you should be able to leave soon," the red echidna said.

"I can't wait to get outta here. A hospital is one of the last places I ever want to be."

"Well I'll let you get some rest." He leaned over and gave her a kiss and walked out the door. She was tired so she went to sleep.

When she woke up the next morning she was released from the hospital. She arrived home in a cab. "Thanks Harry!" Julie-Su called to the cab driver after she paid and started toward her door.

Quickly she pulled her keys from her pocket and unlocked the door. Several minutes later she walked up to her living room and looked at the damage. There were only a couple of trinkets that were shattered on the floor. "It looks like they were after my jewelry," Julie-Su said to herself noticing one of her rings and a necklace was missing.

If she ever met up with the burglar again she'd let him or her have it. Then she cleaned up the room and looked out the window. Snow still covered a little amount of the ground but she noticed Rouge walking down the sidewalk in front of her house. Julie-Su saw Knuckles walking down the street on the other side of her apartment. Rouge then stopped and started crossing the street toward Knuckles.

"Oh no! I'm not going to let that happen," Julie-Su called inside her room. In a hurried pace she dashed down the stairs and out the door. Rouge was already talking to Knuckles. Julie-Su started walking down the sidewalk to make it appear she was just taking a walk.

"Oh hey guys!" she called to them. Quickly she ran across the street and over to the bat and echidna.

Rouge looked disgusted. "Hi Julie-Su," Knuckles said to her pleasantly "I'm glad to see you're feeling better."

The female echidna could tell Rouge wasn't happy she had butt into their conversation. Julie-Su didn't want to take any chances. "I'll see you later Knuckles," the bat said in a deep seducing sort of voice. She winked at him and walked away.

"What was that all about?" Julie-Su demanded as she crossed her arms.

"Oh it was nothing. We were just having a friend to friend conversation, do you have a problem with that?" he returned starting to get kind of annoyed with Julie-Su's tone.

Julie-Su noticed the tension in his voice. But then again if someone had accused her of something like that she would be that way too. "I'm sorry Knuckles, it's just that-

She was cut off by his lips meeting hers in a kiss. Then after a couple seconds they broke apart. "You love me and care about me," he said continuing her sentence. "Don't worry. You're the only one for me."

Julie-Su felt ashamed for accusing him of something like that. Lately she had been all mixed up in her feelings. "Well I'll see you later Knux," she said waving as she walked away.

She walked into her house and sat on her bed. Julie-Su looked out the window at the kids running up and down the street. There were patches of snow in the park in places where the sun never or rarely hit. The echidna got up and walked to her living room and laid down on her couch. She looked at the ceiling, not knowing what to do. Her stomach then grumbled telling her that it had been a while since she had last eaten.

So she grabbed her coat and walked to the nearest diner. It was starting to get dark outside and the temperature was extremely cold. She arrived at the diner and walked in. After she was seated she ordered food and started to stare out the window. Finally her food arrived and the pink one enjoyed a tasty meal. In the distance she noticed a figure running into an alley.

She paid the bill and trotted out the door. Quietly she walked to the alley and peered in. Julie-Su quickly jumped out of sight and looked again. But she only moved her head in the dark passage this time. It was impossible to see in the dark alley. But she heard footsteps and guessed that they were headed her way. Moving sideways along the wall and out of the way the female escaped the sight of whoever was in the alleyway; at least for a couple of seconds.

To her surprise nothing emerged from the darkness. Suddenly she felt someone run passed her knocking her off her feet. Julie-Su pulled herself to her feet and decided that this was the same person who had broken into her house because she recognized the cape. Without hesitating she picked up the pursuit and was sprinting down the sidewalk after whoever it was.

Wind was rushing passed her ears and blowing against her hair. The mysterious figure made a turn down an alleyway and the pursuer followed. Finally Julie-Su got close enough to grab the anonymous runner. It jumped in the air while doing a 180, landed, and tripped Julie-Su.

The pink echidna fell and did a summersault getting to her feet quicker than before. The thief stopped and Julie-Su ran passed it unable to stop quick enough. She spun around and continued after the thief once again. The pink echidna ran into a pole by accident as she turned the corner out of the alley. Everything got fuzzy just as it had when she fell out the window. Slowly and unsteadily she stumbled over to the building and leaned against it waiting for her vision to correct itself. Once again the robber escaped.


	3. A New Friend

I Don't Wanna Lose You

Chapter 3

A somewhat dim light shone upon the many buildings in Julie-Su's town. The cool spring breeze blew across Julie-Su's face. Blowing her hair in the direction of the wind. She and Knuckles were lying in lawn chairs on the roof of her apartment. They were gazing up into the starry, night sky looking at the wondrous stars and moon that stare back at them. "It's such a nice evening huh Knuckles?" the pink echidna girl asked.

"It sure is," the red one returned.

Winter had passed and Julie-Su hadn't heard of any more robberies occurring since her last run in with the thief. It bugged her for a while that she had once again let it escape.

Half an hour had passed and Knuckles went home. Julie-Su changed and slipped into bed and drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, she woke up and fixed herself breakfast. As she ate she looked out the window at the pedestrians walking passed her apartment. Many cars passed also, people headed to their jobs and kids were being dropped off at school. She walked out the door and breathed in the fresh smelling air. It was much cleaner than the air at the Dark Legion Base. The air there was very much polluted. All of a sudden Julie-Su walked into an echidna.

The girl was carrying a grocery bag and everything was on the ground. "Oh my gosh I'm sorry!" Julie-Su apologized while she started helping her clean up her now spilled groceries.

"It's okay she replied. There wasn't anything in there that could be harmed by being dropped," the girl replied.

After they cleaned up the mess Julie-Su said, "Let me help you take your stuff home. You've got too much stuff to carry all by yourself."

"Oh, thank you I would really appreciate it," she replied.

"So what's your name?" Julie-Su asked starting up some conversation.

"Christi-Na. What's yours?"

"Julie-Su."

Christi-Na was a blue echidna with her brunette bangs hanging down on both sides of her face. She had two mysterious brown eyes and was wearing a green spaghetti-strapped shirt and a pair of white jeans. Her dread locks had white ribbon strung around a couple of them.

When they arrived at Christi-Na's house Julie-Su followed Christ-Na inside and helped her put all the groceries away. "So would you like to stay for lunch?" Christi-Na offered.

"No thanks I should be heading home."

"Well maybe I'll see you another time. I'd like to get to know you."

"Okay see ya."

When she got home there was a message on her answering machine. She pressed play. "Hey Julie-Su it's Knuckles I was wondering if you were free tonight. If so call me back and we can have dinner some place."

Julie-Su called Knuckles and luckily he was home to answer it. "Hello?"

"Hi Knux. I got your message and I would like to go somewhere for dinner."

"Okay where to?"

"I don't know."

"Oh go ahead and pick something."

After a little while of going back and forth like that they decided to go to a little restaurant not far from the diner where they usually go.

"Okay see you later Julie-Su."

With that they hung up and Julie-Su went to get ready. After about an hour of grooming herself she was ready and it was almost time to go meet Knuckles. She walked down the street and walked a couple of blocks to the restaurant and met Knuckles outside. "Hey Julie-Su," he said and walked up to her.

"Hey Knux."

The two got seated and they read their menus. Then Julie-Su noticed Rouge in the corner of her eye. Her heart skipped a beat and she looked at the bat that was approaching the booth. "Hey Knuckles," Rouge said.

"Hi Rouge."

Julie-Su just stared her down. "Don't be rude Julie-Su say "hi"." Knuckles whispered.

"Hey Rouge," she uttered as friendlily as she could. Rouge looked at Julie-Su in a way that made Julie-Su mad. The bat was looking at Knuckles. Then she looked back at Julie-Su with a look that said, "He's all mine sweetie."

"Hey Knuckles can I talk to you outside?" the bat asked.

"Yeah sure. I'll be right back Julie-Su."

The bat and the echidna walked out of the building and Julie-Su followed undetected. Outside one of the windows she could see both of them and they were just talking in the parking lot and Rouge went to try to make a move on Knuckles and he put his hand in her way and started yelling at her. The pink hedgehog had no idea what they were saying but she knew he was mad by the expression on his face.

Without delay Julie-Su ran back to her table so she wouldn't get caught spying. She felt guilty about it. "_Why don't I trust Knuckles?" _she thought to herself.

Knuckles came and sat down again. "Where's Rouge?" she asked trying not to raise any suspicion.

"She left," was his answer.

They enjoyed the meal except for the fact that Julie-Su was feeling guilty so she wasn't hungry. She ate some of her food and boxed the rest of it up. He walked her home like he usually did. But he noticed she was unusually quiet. "You okay? You've been quiet ever since I went to talk to Rouge."

"I just feel kind of sick but I'm sure I'll feel better once I go to bed."

"I'm sorry you're not feeling good."

Julie-Su got back to her apartment and Knuckles told her goodnight. She walked inside. She put the boxed up food in her fridge and got ready for bed. Finally she went to bed.

In the morning she woke up and felt tired because she woke up periodically throughout the night having nightmares about losing Knuckles to Rouge. So she just curled up in her bed and went back to sleep.

Later in the day she woke up again still having nightmares. What could she do to stop them? She wanted to know. She got up and preformed her normal routine of getting ready for the day. Then she walked to her front door to go take a walk. When she opened the door she saw Christi-Na walking down the sidewalk by her apartment. "Oh hi Julie-Su, just taking a walk. Want to join me?" the blue echidna asked.

"Sure," Julie-Su said and started walking to Christi-Na's side.

"Have you heard about the robberies that kept occurring during the winter?" Christi-Na asked.

"Yeah I have. Did they ransack your place too?"

"No. I hope they don't either. Cause I've got a bat. And I'm not afraid to use it either."

Julie-Su giggled at the last part of her remark. "If you don't mind me asking do you have a boyfriend?"

"No not right now. I've been so busy I haven't had time for one. Do you have one?"

"Yeah. His name is Knuckles. He's the best guy I've ever met. But sometimes I'm worried I'm going to lose him to another girl. Oh I'm sure you don't want to hear about it. Sorry for boring you."

"Oh this isn't boring at all. Keep going. I mean unless it's too painful for you to talk about."

"Well there's this bat named Rouge. She-

"Oh my gosh you know Rouge?! We used to be friends. Then we lost touch. But she was awfully rude to me every once in a while. She always had to get what she wanted. But it would be nice to be reunited with an old friend. So, as you were saying."

"Um yeah she uh won't leave Knuckles alone. Their friends and all but I'm his girlfriend not her! She should leave him alone! Oh sorry. I'm rambling off again huh?"

"No not at all."

After a while of conversation they walked by the park and saw Knuckles. "Oh there's my boyfriend I'll introduce you to him," Julie-Su suggested. "Hey Knux!"

"Hi Julie-Su. Who's this?"

"This is Christi-Na."

"Nice to meet you," the red one said as he shook Christi-Na's hand.

"Hi," the blue female said.

"Well I'll see you later Knux," the pink echidna said as she started walking away.

"Wow he's hot," Christi-Na said as soon as they were far enough away that Knuckles couldn't hear what they were saying.

"Yeah he is but you better not get any ideas alright?"

"Sure."

The two walked to the diner near Julie-Su's apartment and had lunch. "Wow I gotta get home see ya," Christi-Na said to Julie-Su.

Julie-Su walked back to her apartment and it was getting somewhat dark outside. The way the sun was setting caused a clash of pink, orange, purple and red. The ground had an orange color to it and the sun shot those four colors into the window to Julie-Su's room. Suddenly the phone rang and Julie-Su picked it up. There was a dead silence on the other end. It really didn't make her feel suspicious because she got prank calls quite frequently. She just assumed it was a prank.

Then the phone rang again. She picked it up. Once again there was a dead silence.

"_Strange," _she thought.

The phone rang again but then she heard a crash outside. _"Are the phony calls a distraction?" _she asked herself.

Without hesitating she ran to the window and looked out. Her trash can had been knocked over. But no one was down there. But then she saw the silhouette of whoever knocked over the can. A caped figure ran down the street. Hurriedly, Julie-Su ran out the door and after the thief. She decided she would see if she could cut him or her off. She ran between two apartments and climbed over a fence and saw the burglar turning down the street she was on.

But then it turned around and started the other way. Julie-Su sprinted down the street with all the energy she had. Somehow she had gotten really close to it and tried to grab the cape. Instead she missed and tripped rolling in a ditch. This ticked her off really bad and she walked home angry.

When she got inside she went to bed.

Then next morning she woke up as usual and took a shower like always. She did her usual chores and things to get ready for the day. Julie-Su was used to the routine because it had been similar to the one she had when she worked with the Dark Legion. Except she had more freedoms now than she did with the Dark Legion.

A few hours later Julie-Su called a cab and drove into town. She decided to go shopping. After shopping for about half and hour she walked into a jewelry store and saw Christi-Na. "Hey Christi-Na over here!" Julie-Su called.

Christi-Na turned around and returned the greeting. "Why don't we spend the rest of the day shopping together won't that be fun?" the blue girl questioned.

"Sure," Julie-Su returned but it made her feel strange about the eagerness in Christi-Na's voice.

They went to the food court and had lunch and Julie-Su noticed Rouge sitting on bench not to far away. _"Why is she everywhere I am?" _the pink one thought to herself.

"Oh my gosh is that Rouge?!" Christi-Na shouted. "Rouge over here!"

The bat flew over to their table. "Christi-Na?" Rouge asked in a sort of disgusted way.

"Don't you remember me?" Christi-Na asked.

"Of coarse I do, but I really need to go meet someone outside. See ya!" The bat flew out the door without looking back.

Julie-Su wondered why Rouge wouldn't have anything to do with Christi-Na. Julie-Su shopped for a while and then they returned to their homes. The next morning Julie-Su took a walk with Knuckles. They entered the flower covered park and enjoyed the warmth of the oncoming spring weather.

Then she saw Rouge. _"I'm more than sure she's stalking me!!! Or maybe she's following me hoping to see Knuckles. Wow I never noticed how paranoid I can be," _the pink one thought.

"Oh hi Knuckles," the bat said as she walked by. "I wanted to apologize for the other day."

Knuckles shot her a glance that said "This isn't the place to talk about it!"

"Hang on Julie-Su will you please excuse us a minute?" the red one asked in an annoyed tone.

"Sure" the female echidna replied.

Knuckles and Rouge walked away. Julie-Su decided she wouldn't spy this time. When Knuckles returned Julie-Su asked, "What was that all about?"

"It was just a problem we had the other day at the restaurant. Don't worry about it okay?"

Julie-Su told herself that no one would just flat out admit to their girlfriend that someone tried to make out with them. She just let it roll off her shoulders. The couple walked through the park enjoying the calming effect the warmth and color of the park gave them. After their walk Julie-Su went back to her apartment and noticed a message on her answering machine. She pressed play. "Hi Julie-Su! Thought I'd meet you at the mall tomorrow about noon. How does that sound? Give me a ring." It was Christi-Na.

Julie-Su was beginning to like Christi-Na. A friend she could talk to about girl things. Knuckles was the best friend she ever had but she couldn't talk about girl things. Not that Julie-Su was really into that kind of stuff but it was nice once in a while.

Julie-Su gave Christi-Na a call back and they set up plans for the next day.

Several hours passed and Julie-Su ate the leftovers she had from the restaurant. Then she went off to bed.

When she woke up in the morning she felt better than she usually did. Last night she didn't have any nightmares. Not that she could recall. She got ready to go to the mall with Christi-Na and took a cab. When she got there she saw her friend sitting at the food court. "Hi Julie-Su!" she called.

The pink echidna walked over to her. "Hi Christi-Na."

"I'm ready to get my shop on!" the blue one said.

"Okay?" Julie-Su tried to keep herself from laughing at what Christi-Na just said. But she was unable and started cracking up.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing," she said after she calmed down and quit laughing.

The two shopped and Julie-Su got kind of bored while looking at the jewelry. "I'll be back," Christ-Na said as she trotted off to the restroom.

A few minutes later Julie-Su saw the caped figure stashing jewelry out of the case and into a bag while holding a gun toward the clerk. _"That's the dumbest criminal I think I've ever seen! Steeling in broad daylight; ha! This has to be a joke!" _Julie-Su said to herself and started after the criminal.

No one else in the store even seemed to notice that there was even a hold up happening. "Somebody call the police!" she yelled. She dashed at the robber and tried to jump on its back. It move aside and Julie-Su flew over the counter and onto the clerk.

Quickly she pulled herself to her feet and the burglar fired its gun at Julie-Su and missed. The female leaped at the thief and knocked the weapon from its hands. With nothing to defend itself with it made a mad dash toward the exit. Julie-Su managed to jump on it and slid into a shelf with clothing on it and the shelf toppled over on Julie-Su. She pulled herself out from under it and the thief grabbed her foot and threw her into a whole line of shelves with merchandise on it.

The shelves collapsed on Julie-Su leaving her crushed by the heavy weight of all the items. Julie-Su started to black-out. But she managed to stay conscious. After a couple of seconds someone came over and helped Julie-Su out of the spilled items and shelves. The thief was gone. She brushed herself off and couldn't believe she let the burglar escape again.


	4. A Tragic End?

I Don't Wanna Lose You

Chapter 4

"Darn it!" Julie-Su shouted realizing that the thief had gotten away.

Christi-Na ran out of the restroom and over to Julie-Su. "Oh my gosh what in the world happened! I was fixing my make-up when I heard a ruckus!" she asked.

"Just a break-in." Julie-Su replied in an angry way. She was real unhappy about letting the robber get away.

"Just a break-in?! That's a big deal and I missed all the excitement."

"I know but I'm used to the robberies. Like you were saying earlier this week they were happening quite frequently"

Later that day after the two left the store they had returned to their homes. Julie-Su was sitting on her bed deep in thought about how to trap the thief. She wasn't going to let it get away. The rage she felt after not catching it was getting old.

The next morning Julie-Su went over to Christi-Na's house to talk. When she got there she was greeted and invited in. "What's new?" Christi-Na questioned.

"Not much since yesterday. But I wanted to ask you if you were to trap a thief how would you go about doing it?" the pink one responded.

"Oh Julie-Su you aren't thinking about trying to catch this thief are you? I don't want you to get hurt and the way the thief escaped the store the other day was way too quick for this to be an ordinary criminal. You said he or she got away from you a couple of times yesterday on the cab ride home. Remember?"

"I'm tired of hearing about these break-ins, especially the fact that it has some secret way of getting into my apartment. I'm going to catch this criminal and there isn't a thing you can say to stop me."

"Oh now you're just being stubborn."

Julie-Su looked at her with a "no kidding" expression. "So now that you know I'm going through with this how would you suggest I capture him or her?"

"I wouldn't know."

After about half an hour of talking Julie-Su left. As she was walking down the street she saw Knuckles sitting on a park bench. Then Rouge walked over and sat on the bench next to him. She was looking at him with a dreamy look on her face. Julie-Su hurried over to the bench. "Hi Knux," the female echidna said.

"Hey there," the red one replied.

"Rouge can I talk to you?" Julie-Su asked.

"Sure sweetie," the bat returned.

The two girls walked away from the bench. "I'm gonna say this once nicely. Stay away from Knuckles. I don't like to see you flirting with him when he's my boyfriend."

"You should let Knuckles think for himself. If it's you he wants he'll stay were he is. But if it's me then you should let him go."

Julie-Su looked at her. "Are you crazy!? Just roll over and surrender my boyfriend to you?! I don't think so! You better back off."

Rouge just started to walk away and mumbled "I always get what I want."

Julie-Su was unbelievably mad and took a deep breath in and let it out. Then she followed Rouge over to the bench where Knuckles was. "See ya later," the bat said as she winked at him and walked on by.

Julie-Su looked angrily at the bat walking away. Then she looked at Knuckles with a more relaxed expression. "I'll see you later Knux," she said.

"Alright," he returned and gave her a short kiss.

Julie-Su walked toward her apartment and noticed a note on her door. It read: "Knuckles is all mine."

"_Rouge," _was the first name that came to mind. "That bat better leave him alone or she'll be sorry."

Later in the day she watched TV trying to escape reality for a while. Then it got late and she slipped into her PJ's and went to sleep.

The next morning she fixed herself breakfast and went about her usual routine. In the afternoon she and Knuckles took a walk. The sun was shining and the flowers let off beautiful scents and fragrances. Finally after an hour or so of walking he walked her home.

A couple hours passed and it was really dark outside. She walked into her room and sat on her bed. Then she heard a crash from outside. Quickly she grabbed her revolver and ran downstairs. Quietly, she slid along the wall and peeked out the window. No one was out there. Then she saw her trash can roll out into the street. The pink echidna opened the door so quietly that absolutely no one could possibly hear her.

She slid along the wall again and peered around the corner. There was a figure lying on the ground. Julie-Su got on her stomach and crawled over to the figure just in case anyone was watching. The figure was Rouge! Julie-Su saw some blood running down her side but that looked like the only serious damage she received. "_Who did this to her?" _she thought.

The pink echidna stood up and dragged the bat inside her apartment. She bandaged up the wound and looked out the window a second time. There wasn't anyone outside. Not at this hour. _"Why was Rouge outside?" _the female asked herself.

Then Julie-Su got ready for bed when she heard the front door open. Julie-Su slipped into the living room only to see Rouge walk out the door holding her wounded side. _"No "thank you"? How rude!"_ she thought as she walked to the front door to lock it. That's when she saw the caped figure running down the street again. _How stupid! I can't even catch a robber that seems to strike every night!" _Julie-Su told herself.

Without even thinking she ran out the door, grabbed her jacket and sprinted down the street. With a quickening pace she managed to come pretty close to the fleeing robber. Julie-Su leaped on top of the robber and went to pull the mask off. The thief punched her hand and knocked her good in the face. The burglar slipped out from under Julie-Su. _"This is unbelievable!" _the pink one thought to herself.

"You can't get away this time!" she yelled after the robber. She felt her nose begin to bleed and she just ignored it until the blood was running over her mouth. She wiped her nose with a handkerchief she had in the pocket of her jacket. It didn't stop it from bleeding but it helped. She held it to her nose while she ran down the street and didn't care if she looked crazy. All that mattered to her at that moment was catching the thief.

She sharply turned the corner and accidentally hit her nose with the hand covering her nose. Finally she couldn't take it any more and stopped. She tilted her head up and put pressure on her nose bridge until the bleeding came to a stop. "Shoot!" she shouted frustrated. She walked home and noticed a car slowly driving behind her. The next turn that was available she took advantage of and turned.

The car continued to follow her. Julie-Su started into a sprint and the car followed. _"What's up with this car? Why would they want me?" _she thought.

Then the car pulled up to her side. Two echidnas were in the front seat. "Hey there hot stuff," the driver said after he rolled down the window.

"That's so pathetic," she said in a disgusted voice, "better leave me alone freaks!" she yelled angrily.

Quickly and fluently she reached up and pulled herself over one of her neighbor's wooden fences. Then she saw the headlights of the car cruise down the blacktop of the street. "What morons," she said.

"Who's there?" she heard a voice ask.

"Um, my name's Julie-Su. I'm your neighbor. And who are you?"

Then a figure walked off of the porch in the backyard toward the pink one. "Hi, nice to meet you," he said as he extended his hand toward her. "The name's Twister."

In front of Julie-Su was an unbelievably handsome, brown echidna. He had a bush of hair hanging over his face and a gentle smile. Running down his back were some brown dreadlocks. His blue eyes could cause a girl to get lost in them. Julie-Su took his hand and shook it. The texture of his face told her he was strong but gentle. "Nice to meet you," she managed.

"What are you doing here?" Twister asked her.

"Uh, I, um, well I was just chasing someone who broke into my house a couple of months ago."

"Oh you mean the one who has been robbing every building in this town? Yeah I know the one."

"Yeah well, I have to go."

"You do? You can stay and have some tea with me."

Julie-Su wasn't comfortable in the situation she managed to get herself into. "No thank you. I really need to get home. I left my front door unlocked."

"Alright. May be I'll see you another time."

"Maybe," she said as she started pulling herself over the side of the fence that her apartment was on.

"See ya!" he called after she dropped onto the other side of the fence. She didn't want to cheat on Knuckles. Besides she had just met Twister. When she got home she locked the door once she got inside. She also checked the house to make sure no intruders got in. Then she went to bed.

Once again the next morning she went on about her routine. Then later in the afternoon she walked to Christi-Na's house. When she knocked on the door there was no immediate response. She knocked again and finally Christi-Na came to the door. "Hi Julie-Su! I wasn't expecting you. How are you? Oh come on in," she said friendlily.

Julie-Su was still trying to get used to how friendly she was. It just didn't seem natural. "I'm doing great. How are you?" she returned seating herself on Christi-Na's sofa.

"So what's up?" the brown haired echidna asked.

"I met this echidna last night."

"Yeah?"

"He's really cute. But I don't' want to hang around him with the fear of Knuckles seeing us and getting the wrong idea."

"What's wrong with having guy friends other than your boyfriend?"

"I don't' know."

"See, the thing is you just don't trust Knuckles enough. He knows you wouldn't want anyone but him."

"I guess you're right."

Then Julie-Su got up and started walking toward the door. "Thanks, I just needed to talk. I'll get out of your hair now."

Then she walked out the door and walked to the park. After a little walk she went home. When she got inside she laid down on the sofa and fell asleep.

Later she opened her eyes and sat up. There was yelling coming from down the street. She opened the door to see what all the yelling was about. "You darn thief! Come back here coward!" she heard Twister yelling.

He was running down the street after a caped figure. "Oh my gosh this really is stupid." _"I would think the police would guard an area where the robber seems to hit every night."_

Julie-Su ran out the door with her jacket just as she had the night before. But this time she had Twister helping her. Once again she dashed down the street after the two. When she got to Twister's side she told him to help her cut the thief off. The female echidna grabbed her grappling hook from her belt and fired the hook around a gutter. She swung over the figure's head and dropped in front of it. It stopped and moved out of the way so Twister flew passed and crashed into Julie-Su.

"What are you doing get up!" she scolded him and he got off of her. Quickly she got up and continued the chase. "Julie-Su it's no use!" he called behind her.

She stopped and turned around. "I guess you're right," she admitted. "But I will catch him or her one of these days and there won't be any stopping me."

Twister walked with Julie-Su down the road. They stopped at her apartment. "Well I guess I'll see you later," he said.

"Of coarse, I'll have to return whatever the thief stole from you back to you," she joked.

"Hope to see you again soon." He was looking at her as if he was about to kiss her but she wasn't going to give him a chance.

"See ya," she said as she quickly opened the door and slid in closing the door directly behind her. She really needed to let him know she was dating Knuckles.

The next morning she just stayed at home and did some chores. She spent all day doing the chores and finally finished in the late afternoon. Then it was getting close to five o' clock and she ate dinner. She usually didn't eat that early unless she had something important to do but she just felt like eating early. When it got dark she walked out onto her back balcony so she could keep an eye out for the thief. Julie-Su laid out a lawn chair and laid in it listening for anything unusual.

Suddenly she heard someone climbing up her building. Without making any sound she grabbed a large rock and got ready to throw it. Then the figure climbed up on the balcony and she pulled her arm back to fire the weapon. "It's me Twister," the voice from the silhouette in front of her said.

"What are you doing up here? I have a front door you know. And plus I could have hurt you thinking you were someone else," the pink one said.

"Sorry, I just heard you walk out here and I thought I would surprise you," he returned.

Julie-Su was thinking of a way top let him know she had a boyfriend without just blurting it out. "You want to sit down?"

"Sure." He sat down on a lawn chair next to her that she laid out for him.

"I'm only out here to see if the thief is going to show up."

"I'll help you try to catch it if it does show up."

"_Boy this is really uncomfortable. I really, really need to let him know I'm seeing Knuckles." _

"The stars sure are pretty. They're almost as pretty as you."

"_Wow he's being eager." _Julie-Su wasn't sure how to respond to his remark.

Then a crash broke the silence. Twister and Julie-Su both leaped up from the lawn chairs and looked over the side of the balcony. There was something moving down below but it was impossible to see it. Julie-Su grabbed onto the side of the balcony and jumped down into the darkness below.

When Julie-Su got down there she saw a cat jump out of one of the trash cans. "It's only a cat!" she called to Twister. Then she felt something brush passed her. It wasn't a cat. That she was absolutely sure of. The pink one tackled the figure. It rolled over pinning Julie-Su to the ground.

"Julie-Su are you okay?" the brown hedgehog yelled.

The stranger covered her mouth so she couldn't say anything. Instead of yelling she kicked the trash can and pushed the stranger off of her. Twister leaped down landing on top of the stranger but it managed to roll out from under his weight and got to its feet. Julie-Su tried to grab it but it ran off into the darkness before she could get it.

"You okay?" Twister asked.

"I'm fine thank you very much," she snapped.

"No need to be rude," he said somewhat annoyed with her tone.

Julie-Su jumped up and grabbed onto one of the bars on her balcony and pulled herself up. She hated being thought of as weak and not being able to take care of herself even though she was one of the strongest in town. Knuckles was the only one who seemed to match her strength. But now the thief seemed to come real close.

The reason she snapped because she thought Twister would think she couldn't take care of herself.The brown male climbed up after her. "I should go. Sorry if I upset you in some way."

"You didn't upset me," the pink female returned in a calmer manner than before.

Twister walked over to her. "Do you have plans tomorrow?" he asked.

"_I knew this was coming."_ "Is it a date?"

"Yeah is that okay?" he questioned sort of confused.

"I have a boyfriend. Sorry."

He stood there looking at her somehow hiding his disappoinment. "Okay. Well I guess I'll see you another time."

"Yeah," she managed feeling bad for hurting him but her heart belonged to Knuckles.

After Twister left she walked back inside. Finally she went to bed after she locked up all the doors and windows.

The next day she went to lunch with Knuckles. After they ate they took a walk through the town. At the mall they ran into Christi-Na. "Hi Julie-Su!" she called when she saw her.

"Hi Christi-Na," Julie-Su returned.

"Hi Knuckles," the blue female echidna said in a low seductive-like voice.

Julie-Su looked at her suspiciously. "Hi," he returned.

Christi-Na looked disappointed at the one worded greeting but the expression quickly disappeared from her face. "I was just leaving," she said.

"Christi-Na can I talk to you alone for a moment?" Julie-Su asked.

"Sure," she answered.

They stepped a few yards away from the red echidna. "What do you think you're doing?" Julie-Su asked.

"Just saying "hi"."

"You like Knuckles don't you?"

"Yeah a little."

"I don't mean to sound mean but leave him alone. I'm his girlfriend not you. And as my friend I want you to respect that request."

"Well maybe I don't want to respect your requests."

"If you were a good friend then you would," the tension was becoming noticeable in their voices.

"Well maybe we shouldn't be friends anymore."

"Well maybe we shouldn't."

"Okay fine then we're not friends anymore which means that there won't be a problem with me dating him as soon as you're out of the way."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"What do you think it means dimwit?"

"That's it!"

Knuckles heard Julie-Su yell and he ran over to the two girls. "Julie-Su let's go," he said and grabbed her by the arm and dragged her away.

"What's going on? One minute you guys are exchanging friendly greetings the next you're about to beat the living daylights out of her."

"She's just a backstabber that's all."

Knuckles could tell she didn't want to talk about it so he changed the subject. "So do you want to go take a walk with me later?"

"Sure." Then as soon as she thought things couldn't get any worse she saw Rouge.

"Hey Knuckles!" Rouge called.

She walked over to him and stood in front of him. "How's it going?" the bat asked.

"Fine. How are you doing?"

There was bandage wrapped around her waist from being attacked a couple of nights before. "Where did you get that wound?" Julie-Su asked trying to find out what happened.

"I really don't think that's any of your business sweetie."

"Don't call me sweetie. You hear?"

"I hear you loud as usual and clear."

Julie-Su was still sort of worked up from the fight she had with Christi-Na and was on the verge of exploding into a fit of rage.

"Knuckles do you want to come to my house later for dinner?" the bat asked sweetly.

"I've got plans with Julie-Su."

Julie-Su looked at Rouge with a smile on her face. Rouge gave her and angry look. "Okay that's fine."

Then the bat walked away and Knuckles and Julie-Su left the mall. It was getting close to seven o' clock after Knuckles and Julie-Su had dinner together. They walked outside and started down the street. After they got a couple streets away she saw a caped figure walk into an abandoned apartment building even though it was dark outside. Julie-Su ran down the street and into the building. "Julie-Su what are you doing?!" Knuckles called after her.

She got inside and saw the cape moving up the stairs. When she got upstairs there was a room full of furniture and more jewelry than two jewelry stores put together. _"This must be the thief's hideout."_

Then she heard a door open. The closet behind her had opened and the caped figure walked out. "Well, well, well, look who it is. It's Julie-Su."

She still couldn't see the face but she recognized the voice. But suddenly she saw a gun in her face. "It doesn't look like you're going to be able to get away alive this time."


	5. True Love

I Don't Wanna Lose You

Chapter 5

Julie-Su was shocked. "Christi-Na?" she asked already knowing the answer.

The hood of the cape fell revealing the brunette haired blue echidna. "That's right."

Christi-Na continued to hold the gun in her face. "Now getting away with crimes will be so much easier with you out of the way. You are such a pain getting in my way at the store and whenever I robbed a house. But no more." Her finger curled around the trigger.

The pink echidna wanted to wipe that evil grin right off of her face. Slowly Julie-Su reached down and wrapped her hand around the revolver on her belt ready to fire when all of a sudden she felt something thrust into her sending her across the room. There was a gunshot. Silence followed.

She rolled over on her back looking at what had happened. Knuckles was lying on the floor bleeding from his right shoulder and Christi-Na was staring at the unconscious one. Julie-Su looked at his now wounded shoulder. "You're done!" Julie-Su yelled and pounced on Christi-Na like an angry wild cat.

She held her to the floor and Christi-Na kicked her into the wall. Quickly Julie-Su scrambled for the gun. The last thing she wanted was for her to be getting a hold of the gun and shooting her too.

Christi-Na knocked Julie-Su over and pushed her aside. Julie-Su thrust all her weight into her sending her flying into the wall so hard it nearly made her go unconscious. "Oh you're gonna get it now!" the brunette cried angrily. She charged at the pink one and she just stepped aside letting her run into a pile of jewelry.

Quickly she got up and jumped on Julie-Su like a piggy-back and covered her eyes. Julie-Su threw her off her back like a wild horse and went for the gun. Once again the blue one threw herself at Julie-Su causing her to lose her balance. She crashed and landed on a chair that had been stolen. Christi-Na crawled toward the gun and grabbed it. She turned and saw Julie-Su kick the weapon out of her hand and it flew into the corner of the room.

Then outside on a megaphone they heard the cops call: "Come out with your hands up!"

A few days later Julie-Su was at the hospital with Knuckles. "Hey there," she said sweetly as she waited by his bedside. Then he finally opened his eyes from sleeping.

"Hi," he said softly.

"You feel better?"

"Yeah a little."

"The doctor says you should be fine."

"I know," he returned. Julie-Su looked at his bandaged shoulder.

"I'm really sorry this happened to you. You really shouldn't have gotten in the way."

"I couldn't let this happen to you."

"Oh why not? I'm sure I would have been fine."

"Because I love you and I don't want anything bad to happen to you." He slipped his hand around hers.

Julie-Su's eyes started to water. _"I'm not gonna cry. I'm not gonna cry," _she thought to herself. She then realized at that moment that there wasn't a single person or situation that could tear them apart.

Rouge had moved. Julie-Su was happy when she found out but now she didn't care because she now knew that there wasn't any possible way for Rouge to split them up. "Glad Christi-Na went to jail," Knuckles said finally breaking the silence.

"Yeah, though it wasn't so great that they thought I was her partner in crime." Julie-Su added.

"Oh well it's all over now," the red one returned.

"I wonder who called the police," she said.

"I have no clue. A neighbor maybe?"

"Maybe."

Then Julie-Su leaned over and kissed Knuckles. "I love you too."

Meanwhile, over in the prison a new convict arrived.

"You can't do this! The judge had no solid evidence! Let me out! I don't deserve to be locked up! I'm too pretty! Noooooooooooooooooooo!"

"Hey you," she heard a voice from the cell next to her.

"What do you want?" she asked incredibly annoyed.

"You better give me those shoes you got on! Or you gonna get a good ol' beating'," the female leopard said smacking her right fist into the palm of her other hand.

Christi-Na gulped. "Oh great this is gonna be fun."

The End.


	6. Epilogue

I Don't Wanna Lose You

Epilogue

25 years later.

Julie-Su looked out the window of her house. Her dreadlocks down and her hair bunched up behind her with a blue ribbon. She was wearing a pair of bluish gray shorts and a top to go with it. She looked into the sky and remembered all the good times she had with Knuckles. The memory of how he jumped in the way of the bullet that left the scar on his shoulder that he still had even to that day still remained in her mind as if it were yesterday.

Then the door opened. She turned to see her husband walk in the door. "Hi sweetie," he said hanging up his coat and hat and walking over to her. He gave her a short kiss.

"Hi there honey," she returned looking into his one organic eye and his robotic one.

"Where's Lara-Su?" he asked.

"She's upstairs. I'm sure she'll be down in a minute," she returned.

"Hi Daddy!!!" they heard as Lara-Su leaped off the staircase and into Knuckles' arms.

"Honey please don't jump off the staircase. I don't want you to hurt yourself." The pink one said.

"Okay. I'm just so excited to see Dad," the female that had Knuckles' color and resembled Julie-Su replied.

"Hi there Lara-Su. How was your time with Mom?" Knuckles asked his daughter who was hugging him.

"It was great but I missed you so much!" she said squeezing him tighter.

Then she loosened her grip. "Why don't you go get ready for bed?" Julie-Su said.

"Okay," the red female said disappointedly.

Then she ran upstairs. Julie-Su looked at him again and smiled. "Why don't you go tell her goodnight?"

Then he walked up the stairs. Julie-Su turned toward the window again and looked out. She loved the feeling she got from staring out at the stars and moon. It brought back so many memories, especially the times where they would stargaze together.

She continued to stare at the stars until she heard Knuckles come downstairs. Knuckles came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. She turned toward him.

He pulled her to him and he kissed her. Then after a minute or so they headed upstairs. Knuckles got ready for bed and Julie-Su changed into a night gown. She looked out the window one last time and she saw a snowflake float slowly down to the ground. "Goodnight Knux," she said right before she went off to sleep.

"Goodnight Julie-Su," he said to her as he slid in the bed beside her. Then they finally drifted off to sleep.

A/N: I finally finished it! Sorry if you thought the last chapter was short but I couldn't think of anything better to add or any better way to wrap it up. I hope you liked this fic. Please let me know if you did or didn't.


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